Filter

Quick Filter (⇧⌘F)

Click the filter button in the toolbar, or press ⇧⌘F. The drawer opens above the videos. Quick and Advanced are tabs in that one drawer. Only the tab you are on filters the library. Switching tabs keeps the other tab’s choices. Clear (⌘⌥C) resets both.

1. On the Quick tab, choose a smart library. Optionally choose a smart collection or an album in the Collections card. Then filter by rating, duration, quality, and tags. Filters on different cards combine, so a video has to match all of them to stay in the view.
2. Rating: click No Stars, or click a star. Click Or Higher to include that rating and every rating above it.
3. Duration: type Min and Max in minutes, or click a range. The ranges are Any, < 1 min, 1–5 min, 5–30 min, and > 30 min.
4. Quality: click a chip. The chips are SD, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 4K, and 8K+.
5. Tags: set Match to Any or All, then select tags. Any keeps a video that has one of the tags. All keeps a video only when it has every tag you selected. Search tags narrows the list of tag names. Clear filter on the Tags card, or on Collections, drops that card only.
6. On a Grid or Storyboard card, Option-click a star or a tag to set the same kind of filter without opening the drawer. Option-click it again to clear. The pill above the grid names it, for example Rating 4+, or the tag’s name.
7. Press ⌘⌥Q for the Quick tab and ⌘⌥A for the Advanced tab. The drawer opens if it was closed. Search videos still narrows the filtered list.

Smart Libraries

Smart libraries are built-in groups drawn from the whole catalog. Each row in the drawer shows how many videos match. Choose which rows appear under Settings → Library → Smart Libraries. Recently Added and Recently Played have a day count there. Top Rated has a star threshold.

1. All Videos shows the whole library.
2. Recently Added and Recently Played show videos from the last N days. N is the day count in Settings → Library.
3. Top Rated shows videos at or above the star threshold you set in that same Settings pane.
4. Duplicates groups videos whose file content matches, even when the names differ.
5. Unplayable lists files this Mac cannot play. A playable copy on disk leaves that list. Missing stays separate.
6. Missing lists files whose path no longer exists, including an unmounted drive or a moved file. Click the refresh arrow on that row to look again. Reconnect…, from the banner or File → Reconnect…, points the catalog at the new folders.
7. Last Added lists videos found by the most recent Scan for New Videos. Renaming or moving one of those files keeps it in Last Added.
8. Recently Converted appears after you make a playable copy. Last Metadata Import appears after you import metadata. Both are the places those jobs leave their results.

Advanced Filter (⌘⌥A)

Advanced Filter is the rule tree. Use it when the Quick cards are not specific enough, and when you want to save the rules as a smart collection.

1. Press ⌘⌥A, or open the drawer with ⇧⌘F and choose the Advanced tab.
2. Add a rule on any video attribute or custom field. The operators change to fit the attribute. For smart libraries and albums, the operators include is member of and is not member of.
3. Group rules with ALL or ANY. ALL means every rule in the group must match. ANY means one match is enough. A group can sit inside another group. For example: (Tag is Vacation AND Rating ≥ 4) OR Tag is Favorite.
4. Click Save as Collection… in the drawer header to keep the rule set as a smart collection. It updates as you tag, rate, and import.

Click to enlarge

Only the active tab filters the library. The other tab’s rules stay in memory until you click Clear or choose View → Clear Filters (⌘⌥C), which resets both tabs.

Clearing filters

1. Close the drawer. The active tab’s filters appear as pills above the grid. Click the × on a pill to drop that one condition. Pills follow the active tab only.
2. Click Clear all in the pill row, or Clear all in the drawer header, to reset every filter.
3. Choose View → Clear Filters, or press ⌘⌥C, to reset both tabs from the keyboard.